Abstract
In this research I discuss how feminist Palestinian artists have responded to the Israeli Occupation beginning in 1948. The Israeli government fragmented the Palestinian lands’ of the West Bank and Gaza and Israel, a process which forced Palestinians from the land where they remained in tune with the rhythms of the earth, and where Indigenous people maintained ancestral memory. The connections to the earth and memory were replace by refugee status and service jobs in Israel. Anzaldua (1999) claims that “confronting anything that tears the fabric of our everyday mode of consciousness and that thrusts us into a less literal and more psychic sense of reality increases awareness and la facultad” (61). Over the decades of occupation whereby the fabric of your consciousness is repeatedly ripped by settler colonialism through lies, violence and constant regulation, many Palestinians have developed a sixth sense, especially artists. More than a “sense” , Palestinians know their local land and water supplies, know their presence on the land is being erased from national and international memory, know they were place in precarious politics. This sensing or has resulted in many speaking out against occupation and demanding justice and autonomy particularly through art. We see the relationship of the land and memory as a recurring theme in feminist Palestinian art. The death and destruction ripping throughout Palestine has brought light to settler colonialism and the connections made to other indigenous struggles through art.
Presenters
Erika DerkasProfessor, Sociology and Gender and Women's Studies, New Mexico Highlands University, New Mexico, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Palestine, Occupation, Feminism, Art Activism
